Sports News-March 19, 2013

The Miami Heat now own the second-longest winning streak in NBA history, picking up their 23rd consecutive victory with a 105-103 comeback at Boston. The Heat trailed by 13 with eight minutes left before closing on a 22-7 run. LeBron James scored a team-high 37 points, including the tie breaking jumper with ten seconds left.

There's a chance Andrew Bynum will never play for the Philadelphia 76ers after the 25-year-old center undergoes season-ending arthroscopic surgery on both knees today. Bynum hasn't played since being acquired by the Sixers from the Los Angeles Lakers after last season. He was coming off his best NBA season, averaging career highs with 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds while making his first All-Star team. Bynum becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The Dominican Republic has advanced to the championship of the World Baseball Classic with a 4-1 win over the Netherlands. Moises Sierra doubled home the tying run in the fifth before Jose Reyes slapped an RBI single two batters later. The Dominicans will take on Puerto Rico for the title today.

The NJCAA 15th ranked Northeast Hawks women’s basketball team’s season came to a close at the NJCAA National Tournament in Salina, Kansas yesterday falling to 16th ranked Weatherford College of Texas in the opening round 72-68. Lexi Murphy led Northeast with 19 points while teammate Ivana Vuletic added twelve points. The Hawks trailed at halftime 37-35 and were outscored in the second half 35-33. Northeast’ AJ Johnson was called for a travel with just under four seconds left in an effort to tie the game. The Hawks end the season with a 28-5 record while the Coyotes improve to 25-5. It’s was the first time that Northeast had qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament in women’s basketball since 1977.

The Creighton men’s basketball team have moved up in the rankings. They jumped from 23rd to 22nd in the Associated Press Top 25 and improved from 24th to 21st in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The 27-7 Bluejays were idle last week after winning their second straight Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Creighton also won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title. Gonzaga remains number one in the AP Top 25. Louisville, Kansas, Indiana and Miami round out the top five. Creighton will be in action next when they play 22-11 Cincinnati in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 1:45 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Creighton forward Doug McDermott has been named a First Team All-American by the United States Basketball Writers Association for the second consecutive season. A top contender for National Player of the Year honors, McDermott has led his team to a 27-7 record and Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles this season. He leads the MVC with 23.1 points per game and ranks top-three in the league in rebounding at 7.5, three-point shooting at 50%, field goal percentage at 56%, and free throw shooting at 86%.

Nebraska will play Chattanooga in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament on Saturday at 5:30 in College Station, Texas. The 23-8 Cornhuskers are in the tournament for the third time in four years and eleventh time overall since its first appearance in 1988. The third-seeded 29-3 Lady Mocs are the Southern Conference tournament champions. The Chattanooga-Nebraska winner plays Texas A&M or Wichita State in the second round. Sixth-seeded Nebraska goes into the tournament 11-2 since Jan. 20. The Huskers lost to Purdue in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament. Last year they lost 57-49 to Kansas in the first round of the tournament.

Creighton has received a ten seed in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament's Oklahoma City Region and will open against seventh-seeded Syracuse in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Saturday at 10:20 AM. The 24-7 Lady Jays are in the tournament for the second straight year. The winner of their game against 24-7 Syracuse will play either second-seeded Tennessee or 15th-seeded Oral Roberts next Monday. Creighton tied for its program's second-highest win total and is led by freshman Marissa Janning and junior Sarah Nelson. The Bluejays almost upset St. John's in last year's tournament opener in Norman, Oklahoma. Their other tournament appearances were in 2002, 1994 and 1992.

The Omaha Central Eagles boys basketball team impressed audiences yesterday at the State Capitol nearly as much as they did at the state tournament, where they have won four straight Class A championships. Gov. Dave Heineman, an avid sports fan who witnessed Central’s last two title victories in person, didn’t bother with qualifiers while proclaiming March 18 in the team’s honor. “This year I think you were by far the most dominant team I’ve ever seen in Nebraska history,” he said according to the Omaha World Herald. In addition to winning four in a row, the Eagles have won seven out of the last eight state titles. Three other boys teams have won four straight championships. Before Omaha Central, Lincoln Northeast, also in Class A, was the last team to accomplish the feat between 1995 and 1998. The governor said yesterday marked the first time he has proclaimed an official day in honor of a high school team.